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Inter-American 


Cultural  Relations 


https://archive.org/details/interamericanculOOcomm 


Inter-American  Cnltnral  Relations 


Addresses  delivered  at  the  Annual  Dinner  of  the 
Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin  x^merica, 
January  9th,  1928,  New  York  City. 


Inter-American  Understanding Page  3 

His  Excellency  Dr.  C.vrlos  Davil.a, 

Ambassador  oj  Chile  to  the  United  States. 

Cultural  Peaks  in  Contemporary  South  America Page  8 

Dr.  John  xA..  Mackay, 

South  American  Lecturer,  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association ; 
former  Professor,  Universidad  de  San  Marcos,  Lima,  Peru. 

Practical  Pan  Americanism Page  14 

Dr.  Samuel  Guy  Inman, 

Secretary,  Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin  America;  Instructor 
International  Relations,  Columbia  University. 


Published  by 

Educational  Advance  in  South  America 
419  Fourth  Avenue.  New  York  City. 


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3 


Inter- American  Understanding 

by  His  Excellency,  Dr.  Carlos  Davila,  Ambassador  of  Chile  to  the  United  States 


I wish  to  thank  you,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, with  all  my  heart  for  the  high 
distinction  which  you  have  extended  to 
me  in  making  me  your  guest  of  honor  in 
this  your  annual  reunion,  where,  united  in 
friendly  banquet  you  periodically  reaffirm 
your  faith  in  the  destinies  of  a continent 
and  renew  the  pledge  which  you  have  so 
generously  undertaken,  to  continue  lending 
your  self-sacrificing  cooperation  to  the 
work  of  uniting,  by  the  ties  of  spirit  and 
culture,  the  peoples  who,  separated  by  dif- 
ference of  race,  stretch  forth  their  arms 
for  a closer  communion  in  the  future. 

And  I thank  you  especially  because  1 
do  not  fail  to  realize  that  your  kind  invi- 
tation has  a deeper  significance  than  merely 
to  offer  a cordial  welcome  to  a diplomat 
who  represents  one  of  thr  countries  whose 
friendship  interests  you  and  to  whose  future 
you  are  not  indifferent;  that  it  is,  in  fact, 
a way  in  which  you  have  undertaken  to 
give  prominence  to  the  sowing  of  the  new 
seed  of  friendship  between  the  United  States 
and  my  country,  which  may  unite  our  peo- 
ples in  soul,  in  mind,  and  in  heart,  to 
which  you  know  I have  devoted  the  best 
part  of  my  life  as  a journalist. 

You,  as  I,  feel  that  there  is  a silent  chord 
in  the  instrument  of  harmony  between  the 
two  Americas.  You,  as  I,  believe  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  political  idea  of  Pan 
Americanism  and  the  strong  development 
of  our  economic  relations  cannot,  by  them- 
selves alone,  realize  the  hope  of  solidarity 
of  a hemisphere.  And  you  and  I have  the 
right  of  pointing  out  to  the  consideration 
of  our  fellow  citizens  of  the  Americas  this 
open  breach  in  the  structure  which  it  in- 
terests us  to  fortify.  You  and  I are  soldiers 
in  the  front  rank — and  perhaps  the  most 
disinterested  of  all — in  the  battle  to  convert 
into  links  of  affection  the  obstacles  that 


still  are  raised  in  the  highway  of  a loyal 
understanding  betw'een  this  people  and  the 
peoples  of  Latin  America. 

A little  w’hile  ago  this  city  witnessed  the 
homage  in  which  justice  \ms  rendered  to  a 
life  exemplarily  consecrated  to  the  service 
of  his  country,  a worthy  coronation  of  the 
career  of  the  enlightened  statesman  and 
eminent  citizen,  Elihu  Root.  Those  mani- 
festations, although  they  were  a generous 
and  sympathetic  recognition  of  merit,  did 
not  reveal  the  personality  of  this  illustrious 
jurist — I judge  only  by  the  versions  of  the 
press — in  one  of  its  most  signal  aspects, 
which  should  give  it  imperishable  memory 
in  the  American  hemisphere.  A generation 
of  Americas  of  the  North  and  of  the  South 
has  grown  to  maturity  since  Mr.  Root,  as 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  LTnited  States, 
accomplished  a tour  of  fraternity  through 
the  Republics  of  the  South.  I belong  to 
that  generation.  I was  a youthful  witness 
of  the  demonstrations  which  that  emissary 
of  friendship  aroused  in  South  America,  and 
you  must  pardon  the  impulse  w’hich  guides 
me  at  this  moment  in  recalling  in  w'hat 
manner  our  appreciation  of  the  results 
obtained  then  by  Mr.  Root  has  survived 
the  years  and  how'  it  has  borne  fruit. 

South  America  has  not  forgotten  this 
illustrious  guest  of  1906,  the  highest 
personal  representative  w’hich  the  LTnited 
States  until  that  time  had  sent  on  a mis- 
sion abroad.  Our  countries  had  lived — 
why  should  we  not  recognize  it? — through 
moments  of  apprehension  and  doubt,  culti- 
vated by  the  persistent  voices  of  warning 
against  the  eventualities  which  the  future 
policy  of  the  United  States  in  this  hemis- 
phere would  offer.  At  this  precise  instant 
Mr.  Root  entered  upon  the  rostrum  of  the 
Third  Pan  American  Conference  at  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  and  his  friendly  hand  encountered 


4 


in  the  hands  of  the  other  Americas  the 
clasp  of  understanding  and  friendship. 

But  it  is  not  this  alone  which  attracted 
to  this  man  a special  consideration  on  the 
part  of  South  Americans.  It  was  his 
profound  faith  in  the  destinies  of  this 
continent,  in  the  capacity  of  the  peoples 
that  formed  it  to  achieve  its  future  great- 
ness. And  it  was  in  my  country,  crushed 
then  in  its  richest  and  most  progressive 
regions  by  a seismic  catastrophe  which  had 
reduced  our  principal  port  to  ruins,  where 
Mr.  Root  most  eloquently  defined  this 
strong  faith  in  the  future  of  our  America. 
Alluding  to  a prophecy  formulated  by  Lord 
Grey,  who  had  said  that  as  the  nineteenth 
century  had  been  the  century  of  the  LTnited 
States  so  the  Twentieth  Century  would 
be  the  century  of  Canada.  Mr.  Root 
said,  in  the  government  palace  of  my 
country.  “The  twentieth  century  will 
be  the  century  of  South  America.”  He 
e.xpressed  moreover,  on  this  occasion, 
envisaging  the  magnitude  of  the  disaster 
which  had  wounded  the  Republic,  his  pro- 
found faith  in  the  capacity  of  the  people 
of  Chile  to  react  against  adversity.  A 
splendid  new  and  enterprising  city  is  raised 
today  on  the  ruins  of  Valparaiso,  which  was 
smoking  in  1906,  and  wherever  one  may 
e.xtend  his  vision  in  South  America,  he  will 
find  the  sons  of  the  Tberian  republics 
zealously  engaged  in  the  task  of  developing 
their  economic  heritage  within  the  human 
family.  We  are  preparing  to  make  true, 
in  the  not  far  distant  future,  Mr.  Root’s 
prophecy. 

It  may  be  said  that  from  that  date  com- 
menced the  vigorous  life  of  the  Pan  Ameri- 
can idea  in  South  America.  The  visit  of 
Mr.  Root  was  judged  to  have  this  tran- 
scendent importance  by  men  with  whom 
he  had  personal  contact,  who  were — to  re- 
call only  a few — Rio  Branco,  Nabuco  and 
Ruy  Barbosa  in  Brasil;  Hrago,  Mitre  and 
Figueroa  Alcorta,  in  Argentina;  Battle  and 
Zorrilla  de  San  Martin,  iri  LTruguay;  Ries- 
co,  Hunneus  and,  later,  Barros  Borgoho, 


in  Chile.  Concerning  the  manner  in  which 
it  has  been  judged  in  the  L’nited  States,  let 
us  hear  the  words  of  President  Roosevelt 
who,  in  his  message  to  Congress  of  De- 
cember 3,  1909,  said: 

“In  many  parts  of  South  America  there 
has  been  much  misunderstanding  of  the 
attitude  and  purposes  of  the  United  States 
toward  the  other  American  republics.  An 
idea  had  become  prevalent  that  our  asser- 
tion of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  implied,  or 
carried  with  it,  an  assumption  of  superiority 
and  of  a right  to  e.xercise  some  kind  of 
protectorate  over  the  countries  to  whose 
territory  that  doctrine  applies.  Nothins 
could  be  farther  from  the  truth.  VTt  that 
impression  continued  to  b^  a serious  barrier 
to  good  understanding,  to  friendly  inter- 
course, to  the  introduction  of  American 
capital  and  the  extension  of  American 
trade.  The  impression  was  so  widespread 
that  apparently  it  could  not  be  reached  by 
any  ordinary  means. 

“It  was  part  of  Secretary  Root’s  mission 
to  dispel  this  unfounded  impression,  and 
there  is  just  cause  to  believe  that  he  has 
succeeded.  In  an  address  to  the  Third 
Conference  at  Rio  on  the  thirty-first  of 
July — an  address  of  such  note  that  I send 
it  in,  together  with  this  ruessage — he  said: 

“ ‘We  wish  for  no  victories  but  those  of 
peace;  for  no  territory  except  our  own; 
for  no  sovereignty  except  the  sovereignty 
over  ourselves.  We  deem  the  independence 
and  equal  rights  of  the  smallest  and  weakest 
member  of  the  family  of  nations  entitled  to 
as  much  respect  as  those  of  the  greatest 
enipire,  and  we  deem  the  observance  of 
that  respect  the  chief  guaranty  of  the  weak 
against  the  oppression  of  the  strong.  We 
neither  claim  nor  desire  any  rights  or 
privileges  or  powers  that  we  do  not  freely 
concede  to  every  American  republic.’ 

“These  words”,  President  Roosevelt  con- 
tinued, “appear  to  have  been  received  with 
acclaim  in  ever}^  part  of  South  America. 
They  have  my  hearty  approval,  as  I am 
sure  they  will  have  yours,  and  I cannot 


5 


be  wrong  in  the  conviction  that  they  cor- 
rectly represent  the  sentiments  of  the  whole 
American  people”. 

Since  then  the  word  “Pan  Americanism” 
has  run  a rapid  course,  and  in  truth  it  must 
be  recognized  that  Pan  Americanism  has 
made  the  greatest  progress  of  any  idea  of 
continental,  international  solidarity  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  At  least  I do  not 
recall  another.  Five  conferences  and  then 
eighteen  congresses  on  the  most  diverse 
subjects  celebrated  since  1911  under  the 
tireless  impulse  of  the  Pan  American  Union, 
and  a constant  preoccupation  of  statesmen, 
publicists  and  people  of  the  entire  world 
on  the  pro  and  con  of  this  idea,  have  made 
it  one  of  those  which  mark  a deep  trail  in 
the  history  of  civilization. 

.\nd  if  this  Pan  American  idea,  which 
essentially  is  the  aspiration  to  tie  closely 
the  United  States  with  the  Latin  countries 
of  the  South,  has  made  a great  advance  as 
an  orientation  of  governments,  as  a concept 
of  international  policy,  even  more  surpris- 
ing is  the  consecration  which  it  has  had 
as  a formula  for  the  economic  relationships 
between  the  Americas. 

The  commerce  between  the  United  States 
and  Latin  America,  which  in  1910  was 
about  690  million  dollars,  is  at  present 
considerably  more  than  two  thousand  mil- 
lions annually. 

The  commerce  between  the  United  States 
and  South  America  was  only  about  215 
millions  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Root’s  tour; 
it  was  about  302  millions  in  1910  and  now 
fluctuates  around  1100  millions. 

The  case  of  Chile  is  especially  signifi- 
cant; in  1910  our  commerce  with  this 
country  amounted  to  38  million  dollars; 
now  it  reaches  appro.ximately  150  millions. 
The  American  investments  in  Chile,  which 
were  of  no  importance  in  1906,  came  to 
15  millions  in  1910,  and  in  1927  were  near- 
ly 500  millions. 

The  United  States  sells  in  the  Latin 
Republics  of  America  more  than  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Germany  together. 


covering  about  30  per  cent  of  the  imports 
of  those  republics,  and  placing  in  their 
markets  about  a fifth  of  the  total  exports 
of  the  LInited  States. 

The  total  American  investments  in  Latin 
America  have  increased  in  the  last  ten  years 
from  1250  millions  to  4800  millions,  ac- 
cording to  statistics  of  the  last  year,  but 
to  much  more  than  5000  millions  according 
to  unofficial  estimates. 

If  it  is  understood  that  this  avalanche 
of  American  investments  in  Latin  America 
is  necessarily  augmenting  day  by  day  its 
power  as  producer  and  buyer,  one  may 
calculate  then  the  prospects  of  development 
which  are  offered  by  tb^  commercial  ex- 
change, with  which  figures  I have  perhaps 
already  tired  you  a little,  if  factors  of 
another  order  are  not  raised  in  the  path 
of  this  prosperity. 

It  would  be  childish  to  attribute  solely 
to  a Pan  .American  international  policy  this 
formidable  development  of  economic  rela- 
tions within  the  Western  Hemisphere.  The 
opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  and  the 
Great  War  are,  by  themselves,  factors 
capable  of  creating  new  commercial  cur- 
rents and,  in  fact,  have  done  so;  but  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  trend  of  confi- 
dence and  friendship  between  the  govern- 
ments of  the  Americas,  which  had  its  origin 
in  the  dawn  of  the  century,  has  been  of 
importance  sufficient  not  only  to  create 
this  new  world  of  business  but  to  maintain 
it  after  the  temporary  factors  such  as  the 
Great  War,  have  disappeared. 

Referring  to  the  opening  of  the  Panama 
Canal,  which,  in  his  conception  would 
separate  the  two  continents  materially  but 
unite  them  spiritually.  President  Wilson 
said  in  1913: 

“Interest  does  not  tie  nations  together; 
it  sometimes  separates  them.  But  sympathy 
and  understanding  do  unite  them  ...  It  is 
spiritual  union  which  we  seek.” 

I take  the  liberty  to  dissent  from  this 
opinion;  I believe  that  interests  do  unite 
covmtries.  I have  no  doubt  that  they  are 


6 


what  draws  nations  most  rapidly  together, 
but  1 believe  that  I interpret  the  exact 
thought  of  President  Wilson  when  I think 
that  interests  alone  could  not  create  ties 
of  permanent  union  and  that  the  “spiritual 
union”  is  the  one  which  can  give  definite 
foundation  to  a real  understanding  among 
the  nations. 

So  I have  come,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 
to  the  dead  side  oj  Pan  Americanism,  to 
the  aspect  of  this  idea  which  makes  a rude 
contrast  with  that  which  1 have  thus  far 
shown. 

Let  us  think  for  a moment  how  your 
people  and  ours  would  know  and  esteem 
one  another  if  the  ties  of  spirit  and  culture 
had  followed  the  same  proportion  in  which 
the  ties  of  interests  have  developed,  and 
we  will  have  in  sight  the  picture  of  the 
abandonment  in  which  this  idea  has  been 
left  and  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task  which 
awaits  those  who,  like  ourselves,  are  strug- 
gling to  fill  the  abyss  of  miscomprehension 
which  separates  the  great  masses  of  these 
peoples. 

And  perhaps  it  will  not  be  too  venture- 
some to  think  that  until  this  work  is 
accomplished,  that  of  the  statesmen,  diplo- 
mats, and  business  men  '.  ill  be  fatally  in- 
complete, because  there  will  not  have  been 
created  the  motive  which  will  give  consis- 
tency in  time  to  the  Pan  American  aspira- 
tion: the  continental  mind. 

I know  the  efforts  toward  this  end  which 
are  being  made  by  the  Pan  American 
Union,  the  Carnegie  Endowment,  the 
Rockefeller  Foundation,  the  Chile-Amer- 
ican  Association,  the  Rotary  Clubs,  the 
American  news  services,  certain  universities 
and  centers  of  culture,  and  very  especially 
the  agencies  w'hich  support  the  American 
scfiools  in  South  America,  where  they  are 
training  the  commanders  for  this  cause  in 
the  future — speaking  only  of  those  with 
which  1 have  had  a personal  contact.  But 
I do  not  blind  myself  to  the  fact  that  the 
task  requires  a much  wider  collaboration 
and,  above  all,  requires  a more  exact  com- 


prehension of  the  problem,  which  can  be 
stated  thus:  the  interpenetration  of  cul- 
tures, the  creation  of  a loyal  friendship  and 
confidence,  the  better  understanding  of 
character  and  psychology,  in  a word  the 
spiritual  union  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Latin  peoples  of  America  is  yet  to 
be  accomplished. 

1 have  always  believed  that  the  strongest 
element  in  the  greatness  of  the  United 
States  has  been  its  moral  structure,  its 
powerful  spiritual  forces,  which  gave  the 
faith,  the  self-control,  the  discipline,  the 
sincerity  and  the  simplicity  to  the  moulders 
of  this  great  Republic. 

And  if  this  is  an  example  of  how  the 
spiritual  forces  make  a great  nation,  it  will 
be  necessary  that  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try with  even  greater  logic  than  in  our 
own,  appreciate  that  spiritual  forces  of 
double  strength  will  be  indispensable  to 
give  reality  and  permanent  base  to  an  idea 
of  solidarity  between  the  nations  of  a con- 
tinent. 

There  has  been  a growth  which  seems 
to  obey  a high  design  in  the  unfoldment 
of  America  and  which,  certainly,  has  had 
an  enormous  influence,  superior  to  the 
factors  generally  considered  when  one 
speaks  about  the  economic  relations  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  the  Latin  coun- 
tries of  the  South.  It  is  the  circumstance 
that  South  America  may  be  said  to  have 
arrived  at  the  first  stage  of  the  modern 
economic  organization  of  nations  at  the 
time  when  the  United  States  had  just  pass- 
ed out  of  it. 

The  Lhiited  States  which  had  been  during 
more  than  a century  a country  for  invest- 
ments of  foreign  capital  and  which  w^as 
organizing  its  production,  with  the  most 
exemplary  strength  which  the  countries 
know,  left  that  stage  to  enter  that  of  a 
country  with  accumulated  capital,  wath 
industry  of  exportation  and  with  need  of 
raw'  materials,  in  the  precise  years  in  which 
South  America  emerged  triumphantly  from 
her  economic  lethargy  to  an  active  life  as 


7 


a producer  of  raw  materials,  as  a field  of 
investments  for  foreign  capital,  and  as  a 
factor  of  trade  importance,  as  a buying 
power  of  the  products  oi  manufacturing 
industry  which  it  has  not  yet  built.  In  this 
period  the  two  continents  are  exact  com- 
plements to  each  other.  That  which  one 
offers  is  exactly  what  the  other  needs. 

But  the  moment  will  arrive  in  which 
South  America  will  advance  its  economic 
evolution  until  it  will  have  accumulated 
its  own  capital,  will  have  an  industry  suf- 
ficient for  its  own  provisions  of  manufac- 
tured goods,  will  be  in  a position  to  move 
with  its  own  capital  and  media  its  great 
sources  of  wealth  and  will  consume  and 
elaborate  its  own  raw  materials.  In  that 
moment  the  interests  which  today  unite 
may  become  points  of  conflict  and  the 
difficulties  which  may  arise  will  be  un- 
controllable to  the  extent  that  there  has 
been  neglected  the  task  which  occupies  you 
who  hear  me: — that  of  creating  between 
our  continent  and  the  ITited  States  the 
bonds  of  friendship  which  will  unite  above 
the  political  idea  of  governments  and 
beyond  the  chains  formed  by  economic 
interests. 

The  diplomatic  action  which  guides  the 
international  policy  does  not  always  cor- 
respond to  a general  public  sentiment.  The 
men  who  make  its  course  are  in  the  end 
clarivoyant  and  triumphant  only  when  they 
are  able  to  put  public  sentiment  behind 
their  policy;  if  they  do  not  succeed  they 
have  no  right  to  maintain  it;  the  day  of 
their  downfall  arrives  and  that  which  might 
have  been  a success  helpful  for  their  coun- 
tries will  be  abandoned  and  thrown  in  the 
face  of  its  promoters  as  a failure. 


And  that  which  is  said  of  the  interna- 
tional policy  of  the  countries  may  be  said 
also  of  their  economic  relations.  It  is  pos- 
sible, even  more,  it  is  frequent  that  com- 
mercial relations  may  develop  between 
countries  above  all  consideration  of  nation- 
al sympathy;  the  force  of  interests,  the 
foresight  and  the  effort  of  some  business 
leaders,  geographical  conditions  or  special 
circumstances  which  complement  the  eco- 
nomic activities  may  do  it  and  have  done 
it.  But  also  we  have  seen  how  an  adverse 
public  sentiment  can  finally  undermine  the 
firmest  consolidation  of  international  eco- 
nomic interests.  It  erupts  when  one  least 
expects  and  what  then  is  believed  the  result 
of  a momentary  agitation  may  be  in  reality 
the  result  of  an  inveterate  negligence — I 
would  say,  of  a culpable  neglect  to  build 
along  with  the  bonds  of  interest,  the  bonds 
of  sympathy,  of  comprehension,  of  confi- 
dence and  of  affection. 

Behind  the  pioneers  of  diplomacy  and 
business  there  must  go  the  moulders  of 
public  sentiment,  educators,  publicists,  who 
may  be  called  visionaries  of  the  spirit  but 
who  bring  the  indispensable  keystone  to  the 
arch  of  rapprochement  between  peoples. 
Public  sentiment  is  by  this  concept  the 
definite  factor  in  international  life  and  it 
is,  even  though  it  seems  strange  to  say  so, 
an  inescapable  economic  factor.  And  public 
sentiment  can  only  be  reached  on  the  plane 
of  the  intelligence,  of  the  spirit,  of  culture, 
of  ideas,  and  through  education,  mutual 
understanding,  and  loyal,  sincere  convic- 
tion, which  create  in  the  heart  of  peoples 
the  affection  which  makes  for  confidence 
and  leads  to  an  amity  free  from  prejudice, 
to  a true  binding  together  of  nations. 


8 


Cultural  Peaks  in  Contemporary 
South  America 

by  Dr.  John  A.  Mackay 


IT  is  extremely  unfortunate,  I think, 
that  the  person  chosen  to  treat  this 
subject  should  not  be  a Latin  or  at  least 
a citizen  of  the  American  continent.  The 
present  speaker  is  not  only  a citizen  of  any 
one  of  the  three  Americas,  but  he  does  not 
have,  so  far  as  I know,  a single  drop  of 
Latin  or  Saxon  blood  in  his  veins.  And 
yet  there  is  perhaps  a kind  of  symbolic 
appropriateness  in  the  fact  that  this  subject 
should  be  assigned  to  me.  I happen  to  be 
a Celt,  and  part  of  the  historic  mission  of 
the  Celtic  race  has  been  to  form  the  ethnic 
link  between  Latindom  and  Anglo-Saxon- 
dom.  A section  of  that  race  united  ages 
ago  with  Anglo-Saxons  and  Danes  to  form 
the  British  people,  in  whom  English  speak- 
ing North  America  has  its  chief  roots. 
Another  section  fused  its  blood  with  Ro- 
mans and  Iberians  to  form  the  modern 
French  and  Spanish  peoples.  I rejoice  in 
the  thought  that  part  of  my  mission  in  life 
should  be  that  of  continuing  the  historic 
tradition  of  my  race,  serving  as  a kind  of 
interpretative  link  betw'een  the  Latin  and 
.Anglo-Sa.xon  people  of  America.  But, 
apart  from  this  romantic  motive  which 
affords  me  such  intimate  satisfaction,  I love 
the  South  American  people  for  their  own 
sake  as  well  as  for  my  fathers’  sake.  The 
passion  that  I feel  for  those  southern  lands 
is  equalled  only  by  my  passion  for  the 
heathered  hills  of  Scotland.  That  being  so, 
I am  particularly  honored  this  evening  by 
being  invited  to  become  their  interpreter 
to  you. 

The  culture  of  a people  is  the  e.xpression 
of  its  spirit.  By  “cultural  peaks”,  I mean 
those  characteristics  and  tendencies  that 
express  most  faithfully  what  a people  is 
or  aspires  to  be.  While  it  is  true  that  the 


peaks  do  not  form  the  w'hole  landscape, 
yet  they  dominate  it.  No  one  can  ap- 
preciate the  details  of  the  latter  without 
focussing  them  from  the  lofty  perspective 
of  the  peak.  1 ask  you  to  ascend  with  me 
some  of  the  peaks  of  South  American  cul- 
ture. We  shall  be  able  to  focus  the  diver- 
sified panorama  beneath  us.  W’e  shall 
enjoy  there  the  thrill  of  the  bracing  air 
and  the  clear  vision  that  are  experienced 
when  people  stand  w'here  great  ideas,  great 
emotions  or  great  souls  cast  their  spell  over 
the  present  and  prepare  the  future. 

Not  all,  alas,  of  those  who  have  visited 
South  America  have  been  interested  in  scal- 
ing the  peaks.  \’ery  many  have  gone  there 
as  to  a treasure  mine  or  a curio-hunters’ 
paradise.  They  have  gone  to  speculate  or 
to  exploit,  and  they  have  been  able  to  do 
so  to  their  great  advantage,  or  under  the 
lure  of  the  uncommon  they  have  gone  in 
search  of  rare  plants,  rare  animals,  rare 
people,  rare  sights,  rare  archeological  re- 
mains, rare  social,  political  and  religious 
facts;  and  they  have  found  them.  But  how 
often  in  their  passion  for  the  exceptional 
have  they  missed  the  obvious.  They  have 
generally  acquired  knowledge  but  too  in- 
frequently attained  understanding.  They 
have  given  too  much  time  to  the  mysterious 
caverns  and  slummy  places  and  too  little 
to  the  peaks.  Let  it  be  said  with  utter 
frankness  that  South  America  has  become 
nauseatingly  accustomed  to  the  visits  and 
speeches  and  books  of  those  who  have  the 
monomania  of  the  abnormal  and  sensatio- 
nal, an  appetite  which  can  be  glutted  in 
other  lands  besides  those  beneath  the 
Southern  Cross.  For,  after  all,  the  only 
things  of  real  intrinsic  interest  that  any 
land  contains  are  the  universal  elements 


9 


in  its  life  and  thought,  those  elements  that 
link  it  to  the  main  current  of  spiritual 
progress,  and  that  constitute  at  once  the 
harbinger  and  the  dynamic  of  its  future. 

I want  to  refer  to  four  such  universal 
elements  in  the  life  and  thought  of  con- 
temporary South  America,  to  four  “cultural 
peaks”,  as  I have  called  them. 

The  first  is  the  peak  of  International 
Idealism.  There  has  developed  in  South 
.Aimerica  what  Keyserling  would  call  a new 
ecumenical  sense.  The  most  idealistic 
phrase  ever  minted  by  an  American  states- 
man is  undoubtedly  that  of  the  .A.rgentine 
President  Saenz  Pena,  “America  for  hu- 
manity”. A great  North  American  gave 
democracy  its  classic  definition;  a great 
South  American  crystallized  the  function 
and  destiny  of  true  democracy  in  America. 

The  international  idealism  to  which  I 
have  alluded  manifests  itself  in  a variety 
of  ways.  It  has  its  roots  in  a great  ethnic 
fact:  South  America  is  the  world’s  greatest 
crucible  of  race  fusion.  No  race  is  e.xcluded 
from  entering  this  crucible  on  ethnic 
grounds;  where  e.xclusion  exists  it  is  due 
entirely  to  economic  reasons.  There  is 
fundamentally  no  such  thing  as  racial  an- 
tagonism. Inter-marriage  between  the  four 
ethnic  families  has  gone  on  and  continues 
to  go  on.  Take  some  representative  cases. 
The  most  beautiful  monument  in  the  city 
of  Lima  is  the  gift  of  the  large  and  in- 
creasingly respectable  and  influential 
Chinese  colony  in  Peru.  The  late  lamented 
librarian  of  the  University  of  St.  Alark’s, 
Lima,  the  man  who  brought  the  library 
of  that  old  University  up  to  date,  was  the 
son  of  a Chinese  father  and  a Peruvian 
mother.  One  of  the  most  distinguished 
lady  writers  in  contemporary  Peru  has 
Chinese  blood  in  her  veins.  Now  cross  the 
continent  to  Brazil.  I met  last  year  in  the 
great  city  of  Sao  Paulo  a former  General 
Secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Tokio.  He 
told  me  he  had  just  arrived  from  Japan  in 
one  of  three  ships  that  brought  to  Brazil 
twelve  hundred  Japanese  irnmigrants.  The 


number  of  Japanese  in  that  country  now 
number  70,000.  An  American  sociologist 
who  visits  South  America  from  time  to 
time  remarked  recently  that  each  time  he 
lands  in  Bahia,  the  town  in  northern  Brazil 
where  the  population  has  been  predom- 
inantly Negro,  the  colored  population  ap- 
pears to  be  whiter.  Roosevelt  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  a number  of  years  ago  that 
the  color  problem  in  Brazil  was  being 
solved  in  a purely  natural  way,  by  gradual 
absorption  of  the  Negro  into  the  lowest 
stratum  of  Brazilian  society.  A keen 
student  of  South  American  sociology,  Sr. 
Jose  Vasconcelos,  the  distinguished  Minis- 
ter of  Education  during  the  Obregon 
administration  in  Ale.xico,  has  entitled  his 
latest  study  of  the  Southern  continent; 
“The  Cosmic  Race”.  His  thesis  is  that 
South  America  is  the  sphere  where  a new 
“cosmic”  race,  a fifth  member  of  the  ethnic 
family,  is  being  evolved,  to  whose  forma- 
tion the  white  and  black,  the  red  and  the 
yellow  races  of  the  world  shall  make  their 
contribution.  This  would  be  the  true  ecu- 
menical race  of  the  future. 

A second  aspect  of  this  international 
idealism  appears  in  the  keen  judicial  sense 
South  i\merica  possesses  of  international 
right  and  justice.  The  South  American 
republics  were  originally  organized  along 
the  same  lines  of  demarcation  that  sepa- 
rated the  several  divisions  of  the  Colonial 
territory  of  Spain  and  Portugal.  Speaking 
generally,  the  sanctity  of  national  territory 
has  been  a recognized  principle  and  ideal 
in  intercontinental  relations  in  South  Amer- 
ica. The  main  problem  has  been  to  estab- 
lish the  original  boundaries  of  each  terri- 
torial division.  The  application  of  this 
principle  has  given  rise  to  episodes  which 
would  honor  the  history  of  any  continent. 
After  Argentine  and  Brazil  had  defeated 
Paraguay  in  war,  neither  of  the  victors 
appropriated  a square  inch  of  Paraguayan 
territory.  When  a serious  boundary  dispute 
between  Chile  and  Argentina  was  brought 
to  a happy  issue  by  the  arbitral  decision 


10 


of  King  Edward  VII  these  countries  raised 
a statue  of  the  Christ  on  one  of  the  high 
passes  of  the  Andes  at  the  foot  of  the 
eternal  snows,  on  which  they  engraved  the 
words:  “Sooner  shall  these  mountains 
crumble  into  dust  than  Argentina  and  Chi- 
le break  the  pact  that  they  have  sworn  at 
the  feet  of  Christ  the  Redeemer.”  We  have 
an  extension  of  the  same  principle  to  the 
sphere  of  continental  comradeship  in  the 
famous  principle  formulated  by  the  Uru- 
guayan President  Brum  during  the  late  war, 
when  he  laid  down  that  when  any  Amer- 
ican nation  is  engaged  in  a righteous  war 
with  a non-American  country,  that  country 
should  be  regarded  by  other  American 
States  as  a belligerent.  Idealism  of  a 
similar  character  appeared  in  the  attitude 
of  the  Argentine  Republic  to  the  League 
of  Nations.  The  same  country  that  had 
expelled  the  German  Ambassador  for  a 
misdemeanor  during  the  war,  refused  to 
remain  in  the  League  of  Nations  as  soon 
as  it  was  clear  that  Germany  was  not  to 
be  immediately  incorporated  into  that  body 
on  a basis  of  absolute  equality  with  other 
members. 

A little  reflection  upon  this  attitude  of 
mind  will  make  clear  how  it  is  that 
South  America  possesses  some  of  the  great- 
est international  jurists,  and  why  it  is  that 
the  South  American  republics  are  consist- 
ently opposed  to  the  intervention  of  one 
country  in  the  internal  affairs  of  another. 
From  a South  American  point  of  view,  the 
great  question  is  not  whether  such  inter- 
vention may  do  good  or  not,  but  whether 
it  has  any  right  to  take  place.  It  should 
also  be  clear  that  a group  of  nations  who 
possess  so  strongly  the  sense  of  right  and 
equality  will  never  be  satisfied  with  any 
kind  of  continental  doctrine  or  organiza- 
tion which  does  not  admit  that  equality. 
If  I interpret  South  American  sentiment 
aright,  nothing  but  a League  of  equal  and 
independent  American  Nations  will  be  an 
adequate  and  permanent  solution  of  inter- 
continental relations. 


A nascent  sense  of  destiny  is  a third 
element  in  South  America’s  international 
idealism,  and  one  which  transfigures  the 
whole.  The  war  and  the  chaos  that  follow- 
ed brought  disillusionment  to  South  Amer- 
ica and  with  it  a new  self-consciousness. 
Spengler’s  book  “The  Decadence  of  the 
Occident”  has  had  a very  great  influence 
in  the  thinking  of  the  younger  generation 
of  the  Southern  republics.  Europe  is  about 
to  say  her  last  word.  America’s  time  is 
coming.  If  so,  she  must  get  ready.  I know 
young  South  Americans  who  look  forward 
with  Messianic  passion  to  the  dawning  eve 
of  America  and  whose  ambition  is  to  elimi- 
nate from  South  American  soil  the  dregs 
and  entail  of  a cycle  that  is  passing.  I 
know  also  a sacred  spot  on  the  Uruguayan 
coast  where  for  many  years  past  students  of 
several  South  American  lands  have  gather- 
ed in  an  international  camp  to  discuss  the 
principles  of  love,  justice  and  peace  which 
they  wish  to  see  fulfilled  on  American  soil 
and  to  inspire  one  another  to  live  for  their 
realization.  A student  who  attended  one  of 
those  camps  was  some  years  later  a mem- 
ber of  the  Chilean  Government  that  pro- 
posed to  submit  to  arbitration  that  coun- 
try’s long  quarrel  with  her  sister  republic 
of  Peru. 

Let  me  now  refer  to  another  “peak”, 
the  peak  of  intellectual  comprehensiveness. 
A sense  of  wholeness  is  a constitutive  trait 
of  South  American  mentality.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  mind  is  empirical,  the  South  Amer- 
ican architectonic.  The  former  begins  with 
the  perception,  the  latter  with  the  idea. 
The  former  is  practical,  the  latter  is  logical. 

The  character  of  the  South  American 
press  offers  a first  illustration  of  what  I 
mean  by  intellectual  comprehensiveness. 
A great  South  American  daily  attempts  to 
give  its  readers  each  morning  a synthesis 
of  happenings  through  the  world  in  the 
last  twenty-four  hours.  I feel  safe  in  say- 
ing that  the  two  great  dailies  of  Buenos 
Aires  publish  each  morning  from  three  to 
four  times  more  foreign  news  than  either 


the  New  York  or  London  Times.  One 
cannot  take  up  one  of  these  papers  without 
looking  the  whole  world  in  the  face.  The 
great  headlines  have  an  informational,  not 
a sensational  value. 

A visit  to  a great  South  American  book 
store,  a “book  palace”  as  it  is  called  in  the 
capital  cities,  provides  another  illustration. 
There  you  will  find  a digest  of  the  world’s 
thoughts  mediated  through  Spanish,  Por- 
tuguese, French  and  Italian  publications. 
Engli.sh  publications  are  much  less  com- 
mon. It  may  astonish  some  of  you  to  know 
that  Spengler’s  great  work  was  translated 
into  Spanish  four  years  before  it  appeared 
in  an  English  translation.  The  four  vol- 
umes are  now  in  Spanish,  whereas  only  two 
are  in  English.  A Spanish  translation  of 
Otto’s  epochmaking  book,  “The  Idea  of 
the  Holy”  was  published  almost  simulta- 
neosly  with  the  English  translation. 
Keyserling’s  now  famous  book  “The  World 
that  is  Being  Born”  has  been  in  Spanish 
for  a considerable  time,  while  no  English 
translation  is  yet  available.  If  English  is 
the  gateway  to  knowledge  in  the  Orient, 
it  is  not  so  in  South  America  where  only 
a small  minority  of  the  intellectual  class 
are  familiar  with  it. 

Thus  a passion  for  up-to-dateness  in 
every  form  is  characteristic  of  the  South 
American  mind.  It  not  only  feels  but 
thinks  ecumenically.  As  regards  the  student 
class,  the  average  South  American  student 
possesses,  in  my  judgment,  a wider  though 
less  profound  culture  than  the  average 
student  in  a British  or  North  American 
University. 

A third  “peak”  worthy  of  mention  is 
that  of  a neiv  social  passion,  which  has 
appeared  in  recent  years  in  South  Amer- 
ica. In  the  past  everything,  including 
education,  tended  to  exist  for  a privileged 
class.  Even  now  the  great  problem  of 
South  .\merican  education  consists  in  how’ 
to  de-professionalize  it,  giving  it  a new 
social  value.  But  the  socialization  of  the 
educational  system  is  rapidly  taking  place. 


It  is  being  recognized  that  the  great  aim 
of  education  is  to  prepare  the  pupil  for 
life  not  merely  for  a profession.  One  of 
the  most  distinguished  pioneers  of  this  new 
educational  ideal  is  Dr.  Antonio  Sagarna, 
the  present  Minister  of  Public  Instruction 
in  the  .Argentine  Republic.  Sagarna  is  re- 
volutionizing the  spirit  of  education  in  that 
great  republic.  One  of  his  chief  endeavors 
is  to  fire  the  minds  of  the  future  citizens 
of  his  country  with  the  ideal  of  living 
e.xemplary  lives  and  of  devoting  their  ener- 
gies to  perfecting  some  aspect  of  the 
nation’s  life.  The  thoughts  of  girlhood  are 
being  turned  to  a new  type  of  female 
excellence,  to  new  vocations  that  women 
can  fulfill,  to  new  home  ideals.  The  atten- 
tion of  boys  is  being  directed  to  the  dignity 
of  manual  labor,  to  the  claims  of  industry, 
to  the  appeal  of  the  pampas.  Great  insti- 
tutions for  the  education  of  young  delin- 
quents have  been  organized.  A North 
.American  educator  who  visited  recently  one 
of  those  institutions  remarks  that  it  was 
unsurpassed  by  anything  he  had  ever  seen 
in  his  own  country.  The  spirit  of  the  boys 
was  so  marvellous  and  the  work  they  did 
so  varied  and  so  splendid. 

The  primary  school  teacher  is  rapidly 
acquiring  a new  dignity  in  South  .Amer- 
ica. The  greatest  contemporary  poet  of  the 
Spanish  tongue,  the  Chilean  Gabriela  Mis- 
tral, herself  began  life  as  a humble  school 
mistress  in  a little  country  school.  I know 
of  no  more  moving  piece  in  present-day 
literature  than  Gabriela  Mistral’s  “Prayer 
of  a School-Mistress”.  At  last  this  long 
despised  class  has  become  vocal  and  begun 
to  see  a vi.sion  of  the  importance  of  its 
vocation.  Who  can  measure  the  social  re- 
sults of  this  renaissance? 

Equally  interesting  and  significant  is 
the  youth  movement  which  first  appeared 
in  South  .America  about  ten  years  ago.  In 
its  beginning  it  took  the  form  of  a veri- 
table students’  revolution  in  many  of  the 
leading  South  American  universities.  The 
students  demanded  certain  fundamental 


12 


reforms,  including  the  resignation  of  many 
incompetent  professors,  and  the  moderniza- 
tion of  the  matter  and  methods  of  teaching 
in  many  of  the  subjects  taught.  It  was 
necessary,  they  claimed,  that  the  univer- 
sity should  adapt  itself  to  the  needs  and 
spirit  of  the  new  era.  But  in  some  uni- 
versities the  students  did  not  limit  their 
activities  to  securing  greater  efficiency  on 
the  part  of  their  teachers;  they  themselves 
became  teachers  of  the  masses.  I have 
never  been  in  contact  with  a nobler,  more 
idealistic  and  more  efficient  movement 
than  that  inaugurated  by  a group  of  Pe- 
ruvian students  for  the  education  of  the 
working  men  and  women  of  Lima.  Students 
who  had  formerly  lived  an  idle,  sensual  life, 
became  transformed  into  apostles  of  pop- 
ular education.  They  devoted  their  even- 
ings to  educating  and  moralizing  the  pro- 
letariat, achieving  the  most  marvellous  re- 
sults. At  the  present  moment  there  are 
student  groups  w’ho  meet  once  a week 
throughout  the  South  American  continent 
to  study  some  of  the  most  fundamental 
problems  connected  with  the  social  organi- 
zation in  their  respective  countries.  Social 
justice  is  one  of  their  watch  words.  They 
are  determined  to  give  their  lives  for  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed.  Never  before  in 
South  America’s  history  have  the  hearts 
of  blue  blooded  South  Americans  beat  in 
unison  with  the  groans  of  the  e.xploited 
poor.  The  next  ten  or  twenty  years  will 
witness  many  startling  changes,  as  the  fires 
of  this  great  new  passion  begin  to  consume 
the  stubble  of  a withered  social  order. 

Last  of  all  I wish  to  refer  to  the  cultural 
“peak”  of  a neiv  spiritual  vision,  the  loft- 
iest and  most  significant  of  all.  Within 
the  last  few  months  two  distinguished  citi- 
zens of  the  Argentine  Republic,  both 
presidents  of  universities,  have  written 
books  in  which  they  refer  to  the  religious 
problem  of  the  continent.  One  of  these, 
Dr.  Juan  B.  Teran,  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Tucuman,  has  made  this  remark 
in  his  book  entitled  “The  Health  of  Spanish 


America”.  If  religion  means,  he  says,  the 
soul’s  aspiration  to  have  communion  with 
the  supreme  cause  of  the  universe,  an  ex- 
perience which  e.xpresses  itself  in  ethical 
conduct,  then  South  America  is  that  part 
of  the  western  world  which  is  most  ir- 
religious. Instead  of  speaking  of  the  re- 
ligion of  South  America,  he  devotes  a whole 
chapter  to  what  he  calls  its  “irreligion”. 
Religion,  he  affirms,  has  never  really  con- 
stituted an  experience  but  a cult.  There 
has  been  a complete  divorce  between  re- 
ligion and  morality.  South  American  men 
have  regarded  religion  as  essentially  wom- 
en’s affair,  and  have  taken  up  tow'ard  it 
a position  of  “benevolent  neutrality”.  They 
have  not  been  atheists;  they  have  been 
simply  indifferent. 

In  the  dark  background  painted  by  Te- 
ran, the  book  of  his  colleague,  Ricardo 
Rojas,  president  of  the  University  of  Bue- 
nos Aires,  stands  out  like  a snowxapped 
summit  of  the  .\ndes,  gold-flecked  by  the 
morning  sun.  Lor  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  South  .American  literature  has  a 
first  line  literary  man  written  a serious  book 
on  Christianity.  The  most  venerated  fig- 
ure in  Argentine  literature  has  given  to  the 
world  a book  called  “The  Invisible  Christ”. 
It  takes  the  form  of  a dialogue  between 
the  author  and  a bishop.  Rojas  tells  of  his 
spiritual  guest.  His  first  effort  was  to 
discover  among  all  the  collections  of  re- 
ligious art  an  authentic  portrait  of  Jesus. 
He  wandered  through  the  art  galleries  of 
Europe  seeking  the  authentic  face  of  Christ, 
but  he  came  to  realize  that  there  was  none 
such.  He  then  sought  spiritual  satisfac- 
tion in  philosophy  but  found  none.  Later, 
in  the  yogas  of  the  Orient  he  thought  he 
had  found  the  peace  and  light  he  craved, 
but  he  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  his  re- 
ligion was  of  a purely  aesthetic  character. 
His  heart  was  unsatisfied  still.  At  length  he 
found  in  the  Gospels  what  he  craved.  His 
statement  regarding  the  essence  of  Christi- 
anity is  among  the  loftiest  of  our  time. 
A Christian,  he  says,  in  effect  is  one  in 


13 


whom  the  Invisible  Christ  of  souls  creates 
a Bethlehem  for  his  birth  and  a Calvary 
for  his  resurrection.  He  is  one  whom  Christ 
animates  and  who  reproduces  in  his  per- 
sonal life  the  traits  of  the  great  Master. 
“I  see  you  are  a Protestant”,  the  Bishop 
says  to  him.  “I  am  not”,  he  replies.  “And 
you  are  not  a Catholic?”  “No”.  “Nor  a 
Theosophist?”  “No”.  “Then  what  are 
you?”  “If  you  must  give  me  a name,  call 
me  a plaui  Christian."  Rojas  is  an  ecu- 
menical Christian,  the  silvern  mouthpiece 
of  a considerable  number  of  men  and  wom- 
en in  South  America  who  are  unattached 
to  any  religious  denomination  but  who  are 
Christian  in  the  most  absolute  and  ecu- 
menical sense.  Here  is  a new  phenomenon 
in  South  American  life,  a new  mount  of 
vision  thrown  up  by  spiritual  forces,  a 
vantage  ground  from  which  to  survey  the 
present  dream  of  the  future. 

Rojas  himself  dreams.  He  dreams  of  the 
activity  of  the  Invisible  Christ  as  a trans- 
forming spiritual  and  social  influence.  He 
dreams  of  the  Christianization  of  America 
in  order  that  it  may  fulfill  its  true  Mes- 
sianic destiny  of  realizing  the  hitherto  un- 
realized dream  of  Europe  and  of  Christia- 
nity. “The  association  of  citizens”,  he  says, 
“in  a democracy  like  ours,  can  form  a reli- 
gious brotherhood  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  word.  The  afflicted  world  is  awaiting 
amid  the  darkness  a message  of  hope,  and 
how  great  w’ould  be  our  joy  if  that  mes- 
sage should  reach  it  from  this  Latin  Amer- 
ica of  ours,  a call  to  the  whole  of  Chris- 
tendom”. 

If  I have  interpreted  aright  the  true  spirit 
of  contemporary  South  America,  certain 
conclusions  become  perfectly  clear  in  re- 
gard to  ways  and  means  of  linking  North 
and  South  together  in  one  great  continental 
fellowship. 

Let  me  make  some  practical  suggestions: 

(i)  The  time  has  come  when  a repre- 
sentative committee  composed  of  citizens 
of  North  and  South  America  should  pro- 
mote the  translation  of  the  best  North 


American  literature  into  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese, and  of  the  best  South  American 
literature  into  English.  It  is  not  enough 
to  give  whole  libraries  of  English  books  to 
South  .American  universities.  \'ery  few  peo- 
ple ever  read  them.  In  view  of  the  fact, 
moreover,  that  South  Americans  and  North 
Americans  at  present  drink  at  totally  dif- 
ferent fountains  of  culture,  it  is  absolutely 
necessarv,  in  the  interests  of  continental 
relations,  that  the  chief  cultural  influences 
should  be  shared  in  common. 

(2)  Steps  should  be  taken  to  promote 
a greater  interchange  of  representative 
students  and  teachers  between  the  Amer- 
icas. 

(3)  It  should  be  made  possible  for 
groups  of  representative  and  independent 
citizens  of  all  .American  countries  to  meet 
at  some  point  of  the  continent  once  a year 
for  the  purpose  of  discussing  in  a frank 
and  friendly  manner  their  common  prob- 
lems and  aspirations. 

(4)  This  great  country  of  North  .Amer- 
ica. which  continually  makes  such  munifi- 
cent gifts  to  the  countries  of  the  Orient 
and  of  Europe,  should  at  least  establish  in 
each  South  .American  country  an  educa- 
tional institution  worthily  e.xpressive  of  its 
spirit  and  culture.  It  would  not  be  the 
function  of  such  institutions  to  aim  at 
airing  North  .American  cultural  superiority 
nor  of  imposing  an  e.xotic  system  of  educa- 
tion upon  South  .America.  It  would  be  their 
function  rather  to  put  the  best  that  North 
America  has  at  the  service  of  each  South 
American  country  in  order  that,  with  the 
cooperation  of  national  educators  and  with 
the  necessary  adaptations  to  national  ideals 
and  requirements,  all  that  is  best  in  the 
spirit  and  content  of  North  American  edu- 
cation might  be  appropriated  by  her  south- 
ern neighbors  if  they  so  desired. 

.And  let  me  say,  in  closing,  that  there  are 
certain  qualities  common  in  this  country 
which  the  most  idealistic  among  South 
.America’s  citizens  prize  and  covet.  In 
doing  so,  I will  quote  once  again  from  the 


14 


book  of  Ricardo  Rojas  already  referred  to. 
Rojas  says  that,  if  it  be  indeed  the  case 
that  many  aspects  of  North  American  life 
and  character  appear  inexplicably  absurd 
to  South  America,  he  has  observed  two 
qualities  among  North  Americans  which  he 
admires  and  would  fain  see  transplanted 
into  his  own  continent.  These  are,  first, 
the  mystic  passion  with  which  many  North 
Americans  pursue  wealth,  their  sole  object 
being  to  have  money  to  give  away  to  great 
human  objects;  and  secondly,  the  practice 
which  he  has  observed  in  many  public  men 
of  North  America  of  not  being  ashamed  to 


introduce  the  words  and  principles  of 
Christ  into  their  political  utterances  and 
conduct.  He  cites  very  especially,  in  this 
connection,  the  great  figure  of  Wilson.  It 
seems  to  me  that  here  are  two  qualities 
which  patriotic  and  idealistic  South  Amer- 
icans would  desire  to  take  root  in  the  soil 
of  the  Southern  continent,  just  as  much  as 
patriotic  idealistic  North  Americans  would 
desire  to  introduce  into  their  country  some- 
thing of  that  rich  ecumenical  sense  that 
inspires  some  of  the  great  souls  who  live 
beneath  the  Southern  Cross. 


Practical  Pan  Americanism 

by  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Inman 


My  duty  is  not  to  make  an  address  but 
to  bring  to  your  attention  the 
belief  of  the  Committee  on  Co- 
operation in  Latin  America  that  we  will 
never  have  the  right  kind  of  political  and 
commercial  relations  until  we  have  the  right 
kind  of  spiritual  relations.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  the  Committee  has,  on  the  eve 
of  the  opening  of  the  Six^h  Pan  American 
Conference  in  Havana,  iri/ited  this  repre- 
sentative group  of  people  to  publicly  re- 
gister an  emphasis  on  the  development  of 
these  educational  and  spiritual  exchanges  so 
necessary  to  development. 

We  could  not  have  possibly  brought  be- 
fore you  better  representatives  of  diplo- 
macy, commerce,  education  and  Christian 
leadership  than  we  have  on  our  program 
this  evening.  We  are  most  grateful  to  them 
for  coming  here.  Our  distinguished  Am- 
bassador from  Chile  did  not  become  dis- 
tinguished when  he  was  made  Ambassador 
— he  was  made  Ambassador  because  he  was 
distinguished.  As  editor  of  LA  NACION, 
he  was  a fighter  for  righteousness  and 
justice.  He  is  the  new  type  of  diplomat, 
fortunately  not  qualifying  under  the  old 


definition — “A  diplomat  is  a man  who  lies 
abroad  for  his  country”.  Our  honorary 
guest  of  the  evening  said  in  his  farew'ell 
address  to  the  Rotary  Club  of  Santiago: 

‘‘Some  of  us  believe  with  all  our  hearts 
in  the  efficacy  of  spiritual  forces  and  that 
we  can  help  each  other  by  invoking  them. 
For  that  reason  I earnestly  beseech  all  such 
to  keep  me  constantly  in  mind.” 

May  we  assure  our  friend,  the  Ambassa- 
dor, that  he  is  tonight  among  those  who 
take  his  same  position  in  the  belief  in 
spiritual  forces  and  assure  you  that  w'e  will 
have  continued  fellowship  with  you  in  that 
higher  spiritual  realm. 

In  our  genial  Chairman,  Mr.  Irving  T. 
Bush,  we  have  one  of  those  outstanding 
representatives  of  business  who  has  seen 
much  beyond  a mere  exchange  of  goods  and 
has  become  a contributor  to  literature  as 
well  as  to  the  practical  upbuilding  of  in- 
ternational friendship.  In  Dean  Russell  we 
have,  not  only  the  representative  of  the 
institution  that  today  has  trained  more 
educational  leaders  than  any  other,  but  a 
young  man  w'ho  has  himself  made  distinct 
contributions  to  international  friendship 


15 


through  education.  In  Dr.  Mackay  we  see 
e.xemplified,  as  much  as  in  any  living  man, 
a demonstration  of  how  a Christian  leader 
can  so  identify  himself  with  the  people 
among  whom  he  lives  that  he  is  accepted 
as  one  of  their  own  and  elected,  as  no 
foreigner  was  ever  before,  to  the  particu- 
larly difficult  chair  of  Philosophy  in  the 
oldest  university  in  America,  San  Marcos 
of  Lima,  Peru. 

What  are  the  outstanding  facts  about  our 
relations  with  our  neighbors  on  this  hemi- 
sphere? 

There  are  four: 

1.  Our  rapidly  multiplying  economic 
interests  in  Latin  America. 

2.  The  growing  extention  of  the  polit- 
ical influence  of  the  U.  S.  in  these  south- 
ern countries. 

3.  The  paucity  of  spiritual  and  cultural 
interchange. 

4.  The  natural  consequence  of  growing 
misunderstanding  and  suspicion. 

All  the  material  interests  of  the  L^nlted 
States  in  Latin  America  have  growm  re- 
cently. This  was  dramatically  illustrated  a 
few  weeks  ago  when  a great  procession  of 
armoured  cars  moved  for  hours  through 
armed  guards,  from  the  Federal  Reserve 
Bank  in  New  York  across  the  ferries  to 
steamship  piers  in  Hoboken,  carrying  one 
of  the  largest  shipments  of  gold  ever  made 
in  the  world’s  history.  Hundred  of  kegs 
of  twenty  dollar  gold  pieces  were  going  to 
Brazil  to  help  stabilize  her  exchange. 
Similar  shipments  to  Argentina,  during  the 
last  four  months  of  this  year,  have  totalled 
$62,000,000.  New  loans  for  Latin  Amer- 
ica are  announced  every  few  days  in  New 
York’s  financial  circle.  The  total  invest- 
ment of  the  United  States  in  Latin  America 
on  June  the  ist,  1927,  was  $4,800,000,000 
0*"  40%  of  our  total  foreign  invest- 
ments. In  1919  we  loaned  to  Latin  Amer- 
ican governments  $20,900,000.  In  1926  we 
loaned  them  fifteen  times  that  much,  that 
is  $317,708,200. 

As  for  the  extension  of  the  political  in- 


fluence of  this  country  in  Latin  America, 
the  present  crisis  in  Nicaragua  is  a suf- 
ficient reminder.  This  growing  tendency  to 
establish  protectorates  in  the  Caribbean 
region  has  led  President  Coolidge  to  de- 
clare recently: 

“Toward  the  governments  of  the  coun- 
tries which  we  have  recognized  this  side  of 
the  Canal  we  feel  a moral  responsibility 
that  does  not  attach  to  other  nations.” 

In  spite  of  this  rapidly  extended  eco- 
nomic and  political  domii'.ance  over  Latin 
America,  we  are  doing  less  to  share  our 
educational  and  spiritual  heritage  with 
them  than  we  are  for  any  other  part  of 
the  world.  We  have  spent  millions  of 
dollars  in  establishing  splendid  schools  and 
universities  in  the  Orient.  During  the  last 
few  years  more  than  a hundred  million 
dollars  have  been  given  for  Near  East 
Relief  and  colleges  in  the  Near  East.  One 
is  astounded  at  the  largeness  of  the  gifts 
of  Americans,  as  he  reviews  those  of  the 
year  just  closing,  which  include  many 
millions  for  libraries,  cathedrals,  clinics, 
Shakespeare  Memorials,  for  Europe,  to  say 
nothing  of  China,  Japan  and  other  oriental 
nations.  But  for  Latin  America,  one  looks 
in  vain  for  such  gifts.  I believe  I am 
correct  in  saying  that  never  in  our  history 
have  we  made  one  single  gift  of  as  much 
as  $100,000  to  any  school,  hospital  or  elee- 
mosynary institution  in  all  of  Latin  Amer- 
ica. 

In  Buenos  Aires  people  will  point  out 
to  you  the  newest  and  most  imposing  build- 
ing of  that  city  as  the  home  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Boston.  They  will  then 
take  you  out  into  the  suburbs  and  show 
you  a residence  where  is  housed  the  only 
North  American  school  above  the  primary 
grade  in  Argentina,  crowded  to  the  doors 
with  classes  held  from  cellar  to  dome  and 
the  playground  with  sufficient  room  only 
for  the  250  boys  to  stand  in  line.  That  the 
towering  bank  building  represents  our  in- 
terest in  commerce  and  the  ill  equipped  re- 
sidence represents  our  interest  in  education, 


16 


is  the  natural  conclusion  of  the  Argentine. 

That  the  American  business  men  are 
beginning  to  realize  their  responsibility  in 
exporting  something  more  than  automobiles 
and  other  manufactured  articles  and  bring- 
ing out  of  these  countries  something  more 
than  sugar,  oil,  copper  and  bananas,  is 
illustrated  by  the  following  which  the  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce in  Havana,  Cuba,  recently  said: 

“American  investments  in  Cuba  amount 
to  one  billion  five  hundred  million  dollars. 
All  the  profits  produced  by  this  immense 
investment  come  to  us.  We  complain  be- 
cause Spain  took  away  all  the  profits  and 
put  nothing  back,  but  what  universities 
have  we  provided,  what  hospitals  have  we 
built,  what  asylums  have  we  established?” 

Not  only  for  South  America,  but  for  the 
sake  of  our  own  souls,  this  emphasis  must 
be  changed.  We  dare  not  let  our  dividends 
from  trade  go  piling  up  so  rapidly  and  our 
gifts  for  Christian  service  remain  so  nig- 
gardly. 

A number  here  tonight  have  helped  to 
inaugurate  a movement  which  intends  to 
correct  this  situation.  This  movement  is 
called  the  South  American  Educational 
Advance.  It  is  in  process  of  raising 
$2,500,000  to  enlarge  North  American 
schools  in  South  America  and  to  send 
certain  specialists  in  public  health  and  in 
social  service,  and  provide  for  an  inter- 
change of  lectures  and  the  publication  of 
some  of  our  best  literature  in  Spanish  and 
Portuguese.  Eight  hundred  fifty  thousand 
dollars  of  the  total  has  now  been  raised. 
Tonight  we  are  permitted  to  announce 
three  important  gifts.  The  most  remark- 
able thing  is  that  two  of  them  come 
through  Latin  Americans,  alumni  of  two 
of  these  American  schools.  One  is  a direct 
gift  of  100,000  Chilean  pesos  by  a former 
mayor  of  Santiago  to  his  Alma  Mater, 
Instituto  Ingles.  The  other  is  an  anony- 


mous gift  secured  by  a graduate  of  San- 
tiago College,  now  living  in  this  country. 
This  gift  is  for  $100,000,  providing  a 
similar  amount  be  raised  for  the  same 
school.  The  third  gift  of  $25,000  has  just 
been  received  from  a North  American  for 
Colegio  Americano  at  Buenos  Aires. 

Since  the  starting  of  South  American 
Educational  Advance,  organizations  repre- 
sented in  the  Committee  on  Cooperation  in 
Latin  America  have  begun  other  similar 
projects,  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  just  now  is 
beginning  a fund  for  a building  in  Buenos 
.\ires,  and  the  Board  for  Christian  Work 
in  Santo  Domingo  a fund  for  a hospital  in 
that  needy  land. 

The  Brazilian  Ambassador  to  the  United 
States  on  learning  of  the  Educational 
Advance  in  South  America,  which  proposed 
to  enlarge  the  usefulness  of  our  North 
American  educational  institutions  in  South 
America,  wrote  as  follows: 

“It  has  been  with  the  greatest  interest 
as  well  as  with  keen  delight  that  I have 
learned  of  your  plans  for  the  development 
of  close  spiritual  and  cultural  relation- 
ships between  North  and  South  America. 
These  have  met  with  my  warm  approval 
insofar  as  Brazil  is  concerned,  having  no 
doubt  that  my  colleagues  of  the  other 
countries  of  South  America  have  felt  that 
the  subject  and  your  aims  appeal  to  their 
sense  of  patriotism. 

“This  ‘Educational  Advance  in  South 
America’  which  proposes  to  enlarge  the 
work  of  a number  of  North  American 
schools  in  South  America,  and  to  provide 
for  a large  inter-.\merican  spiritual  ex- 
change, should  have  far-reaching  results. 

“No  doubt  the  business  men  of  your 
country  will  see  that  you  are  contributing 
in  a large  way  to  that  fehowship  and  con- 
fidence on  which  alone  can  be  based  a 
permanent  exchange  of  goods  as  well  as 
of  friendships.” 


